IDC: Android dominates the smartphone market

The latest mobile numbers are out from IDC and, not surprisingly, it shows that Android and iOS are the clear leaders in the smartphone battle around the world.

Google’s Android had a whopping 59 percent of the market for the first quarter of 2012. The battle between Android and iOS is much tighter in the United States but Android is clearly the leader when you look at the global perspective. Part of the reason for this is that Android has strong penetration in emerging markets like China and India, while the iPhone is still trying to penetrate those areas.

Don’t feel bad for Apple though, as it shipped 35 million iPhones last quarter and is the leader in smartphone revenues by a large margin. It still has a respectable 23 percent of the market and that number could grow, especially if it continues to make inroads into China.

The ones you may want to feel bad for are Research In Motion and Microsoft, as its platforms continue to struggle. The BlackBerry maker now has a little more than 6 percent of the global market and that’s 7 percent less than it had at this point last year. BlackBerry 10 may revitalize its chances but it will definitely be tough.

At least RIM had a peak, as Windows Phone still faces many hurdles to mass adoption. The IDC numbers said it has 2.2 percent of the market in the first quarter and that’s actually a decrease from last year. I don’t think this takes into account the high-profile Lumia 900 in the United States, so look for those numbers to increase next quarter.